European Journeyman | Season 1 | St. Patricks

It's been a couple of years since I've properly gotten into a career mode so I'm giving this a go. Basically I've never won the Champions League in a Fifa career dating back to 1999, spanning 17 editions and it would be nice to achieve it before the series grows off me altogether - so that's the ultimate end goal.

The only problem is that as always, I'm gonna overcomplicate things for myself by setting some rules:

Can't leave Europe at any stage

Starting club must have a budget below £1,000,000

Starting club must be one of poorest 3 clubs in a given country

Realistic transfers and career moves only

So, adhering to the rules, these are the potential starting clubs:

I'll return with a decision and kick things off at some point this evening!

It's always fun to over complicate it for ourselves. Makes the career mode more enjoyable I think.

Do you have rules on how long you can stay at a club?

Definitely agree with that!

I don't think I'll impose any restrictions on staying at a club for a given amount of time, I'll be using the first couple of teams as a stepping stone until I get to the stage where I can manage a club who could realistically win the CL. Ideally 2 seasons max with the first few then hopefully I can settle down at a bigger club and start building.

I've no idea what job offers are like on this game but I'll aim to take the most realistic path possible to the top.

I've decided to go with a team with which I could realistically have a chance of some success in season 1. St. Pats qualified for Europe in real life, and out with Dundalk and Cork City I feel like I can assert myself as the third force. As you can see I've turned off the first transfer window so I'll have to make do with the current playing squad for the first half of the season. Having played a few games already, I'm happy with the slider settings and half length in terms of results, and I'm playing on broadcast for the first time ever just to add that extra element of realism. Looking forward to seeing how things pan out!

I'd like to know your sliders, I sometimes find Legendary a little too easy but Ultimate way too hard is that the case for you and that's why you go with custom sliders?

I just find that once I've sussed out how to beat the AI, it's far too easy and there's no variation in terms of how I play the game, and I'm therefore bored rather quickly. It sounds weird, but I hate winning all the time haha. So by increasing the chance of error for both myself and the AI, it improves things drastically imo, every game is unique.

Fairly pleased with that start, it's too early for any sort of deep analysis however as things will be very different in as little as another month's time. The draw at league favourites Dundalk was the highlight as it shows we can go toe to toe with every team in this league. There's a very determined group of players here and I'm confident I can get the most out of them and deliver success.

Using sliders is one option to make the game challenging. Or you can do what I do and go through long stretches of not playing (plus manual controls) so I never get any better at it. Good to have you back doing a story. I am interested to see how St. Patrick's will do in European competition (assuming you qualify, of course and not get sacked). I like the presentation and am interested in how the odds work.

Using sliders is one option to make the game challenging. Or you can do what I do and go through long stretches of not playing (plus manual controls) so I never get any better at it. Good to have you back doing a story. I am interested to see how St. Patrick's will do in European competition (assuming you qualify, of course and not get sacked). I like the presentation and am interested in how the odds work.

I'm about 60% full manual atm, short passing and shooting are both on semi-assisted because I often forget and my shots go out for throw ins. I've got through passing on manual though which unlocked a whole new dimension of the game for me, some of the balls you can play into space to run onto are delightful!

My aspirations if I reach Europe will be extremely low unless I get a highly favourable qualifying draw, hopefully I can get there though and enjoy the experience even if it is only one tie. I'm not sure how qualification works from each domestic league (I.e. if the top 3 qualify as well as the cup winner, or the cup winner replaces the team in 3rd?). If anyone has a list or anything for each country in Europe that would be appreciated.

The odds I just added in as a little extra as I find it quite fun to compile them based on league position/form/injuries. Was thinking about adapting them to a prediction game but I might save that for the next edition as I'm keen to fly through this while I have some free time.

Love the rules and a great team to start with. Dundalk and Shamrock are creating a gap but 3rd is definitely up for grabs.

I think 3rd was always going to be the target, it's actually fairly close to the real life standings as well which is interesting. Even though the star ratings are generally low, you can tell there's a step up when playing against Dundalk and Shamrock.

Yeah mixed results, lots of draws really and they don't add up to much compared to going all out for wins and in result drops you down the table a bit. I can see 3rd being the realistic target, the top 2 teams are far better than the rest it seems. Does 3rd qualify you to the Europa League qualifiers?

Yeah mixed results, lots of draws really and they don't add up to much compared to going all out for wins and in result drops you down the table a bit. I can see 3rd being the realistic target, the top 2 teams are far better than the rest it seems. Does 3rd qualify you to the Europa League qualifiers?

Yeah far too many 1-1 draws in particular, although most of them have been coming from behind so at least there's a bit of resilience there. In game, third place is highlighted on the league table so I'm just gonna assume that's enough to make the qualifiers!

Out of the cup, but to be expected given the draw. League form is improving however and there's a slight gap building to the rest of the pack where it's very tightly bunched up. Big month coming up, I honestly think 4 points would be a decent return and should ensure I'm 3rd going into the winter break - during which I'll do a mid-season summary or something, definitely just deciding what to do as I go along here haha

Four points were the target, we only got three but it was a massive three. Lose to Cork and the gap going into the winter break would've been seven points - a big ask, but instead it's just one so we're very much in contention for that third spot. With a favourable fixture list coming up in January, it's a great opportunity to get some points on the board and put ourselves back in pole position.

I'll be looking to bring in a new face or two before the Sligo game, even if just backup as we're severely lacking in squad depth.

Like you said, very big win to keep the standings only a point back. It looks like the CAM position is not scoring enough nor is the striker. A CM leading the scoring for the club.

Will you be looking at bringing in a striker?

Yeah the lack of goals coming from the attacking positions is a big concern but given the budget constraints it's difficult to improve on a 64 rated striker so I'll probably have to make do until the end of the season. I could've looked at free agents as an option but I don't think a Bolivian would quite fancy playing in this league

Lot of separation for the top two teams, but I guess that third spot was always the goal. Nice string of wins to put St. Patrick's in the third spot. A few more runs like that, and you can put a Cork in it.

I'd love a few more runs like that, but looking at the fixture list it might have to wait for the time being Cork on the other hand play 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th this month so we could see yet another swing, you can't deny it's not exciting! Might have to hold on to that Cork for now...

Battle for 3rd is really the top story this season, Cork being the biggest threats to that, good to see a run of wins in the last month though, just what the team needed. Good to see you get rid of an older player and introduce two younger players, not that I know who that are